Market Info

Curious about just how much the real estate market has increased over the past several years? Below are statistics derived from the local Oakville Real Estate Board showing the % change in average sale prices year over year.

Unlike the United States, Oakville's housing prices dipped only from November 2008-April 2009, after which they continued to increase beyond the 2008 economic downturn. Media reports tend to sensationalize risk factors by reporting on Canadian wide market data or on specific markets (ie: the Vancouver or Toronto condo market) which have little influence on the strength of the Oakville market.

Of late, a lot of attention has been given to the federal governments tightening of lending restrictions as well as an increase in mortgage rates as bond prices increase. There is no doubt that policy and rates do have an impact on the market, however the reality is that even long term mortgage rates are still at near all-time lows. Average price increases in the first half of 2013 alone show signs that Oakville homes continue to be in high demand. This is even more impressive when you see that they are being compared against 2012 where prices were again at all time highs.

I'm not suggesting that Oakville will continue to see year over year market returns like we've had these past five years however anyone who is looking to buy today needs to understand that price ceilings are being broken every day. If you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to buy, you do need to be aware of the fact that the home you saw in January worth $700,000 is now worth $780,000. Ridiculous, I know but I see buyers fight not to get priced out of the market all the time.

The real question is what is contributing to the year over year increases? I don't pretend to be an economist but I do think that Oakville's rising home prices are attributable to a few things. Full disclosure: these are my opinions only. I wish I had hard evidence to back these beliefs but I don't:

1. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is a strong, diversified economy

2. Immigration in Canada is still overwhelmingly concentrated in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. This has attributed to expansion of the GTA to the West, North and East. Oakville is one of the benefactors being in close proximity to great job opportunities as well as public transit into Toronto.

3. The Town of Oakville has limited the speed of new housing developments. There simply aren't enough homes to house all the people that would like to live in Oakville.

If you are thinking of moving to Oakville, I would love to help you buy your dream home. I can be reached at 905.484.5162 and lindsay@lifeinoakville.com.